Motorsports: NASCAR, NBC announce 10-year deal

Just days before ESPN starts its NASCAR coverage this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the final 17 races, including the Chase, the sanctioning body and NBC Sports Group announced a blockbuster 10-year deal.

NBC will replace ESPN and TNT beginning in 2015. The network will carry 17 Sprint Cup races and the Nationwide Series schedule, in addition to NASCAR regional and touring series events and other live content. The deal will run through 2024.

No financial terms were disclosed. However, SportsBusiness Journal reported that NBC will pay as much as 50 percent more for the second half of the season as ESPN and Turner were paying. According to SBJ, the ESPN-Turner portion of the current TV rights package was valued at $2.7 billion through an eight-year agreement that ends after next season.A year ago, Fox renewed its contract with NASCAR for the first half of the Sprint Cup season, which includes the Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

"Obviously a very exciting and huge day for the sport of NASCAR, the industry of NASCAR and all of our stakeholders," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France during a mid-day teleconference call on Tuesday. "I certainly want to make mention of two partners who are not going to be renewing their rights, that being TNT and Turner and ESPN. We've been together one way or the other for 30-plus years, and they've done an outstanding job of presenting the NASCAR story week in and week out, and we'll certainly miss them in many ways."

It is not the first time NBC has been involved with NASCAR. The network was involved from 2001-2006.

"We are thrilled to be back," said Chairman of the NBC Sports Mark Lazarus on the national teleconference call. "When NBC was involved with NASCAR ... it was a very good experience for NBC, the rich history of NASCAR. We think that the stakeholders of NASCAR, led by Brian as well as the teams, the owners, the tracks, the drivers, will all welcome us back with open arms based on previous history and experience with us, and we couldn't be happier to have NASCAR back as a tent-pole property for NBC and NBC Sports Network."

Not all the NBC races will be carried over the air. Of NBC Sports Group's 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup events, seven will be carried on NBC, with 13 airing on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). Four of NBC Sports Group's 19 NASCAR Nationwide Series races will air on NBC, with 15 airing on NBCSN.

With its new agreement, NBC will broasdcast NASCAR, Formula One and the IndyCar Series.